Monday, January 10, 2011

Fitness / Male Model Advice: by Jordan Preston

The process of breaking into the fitness modeling scene happened somewhat abruptly and really just took off quickly from there. I found Gary out of simple curiosity for the model management companies in my area, Sacramento California. I sent in a couple of quick photos to photographer Gary Gonzalez, and like that the wheels were turning. We set up some dates to shoot at his home/studio, as well as go over the business side of things. There was some lingering hesitancy about the whole idea of fitness modeling; however upon sitting down with Gary and shedding some light on few issues, I began to feel more and more at ease. He is incredibly open and up front with his models, with his patience and flexibility allowing for a relaxed and fun working environment.

The weekend of the shoot came with a bit of nervousness, but physically I was as ready as ever. The first day was a long day in the studio, and it was more of a learning experience than anything. I was introduced to the overall process and the extreme amount of detail involved in a photoshoot. It was exhausting and I held a lot of tension, which showed in a lot of the photos. Being relaxed and putting trust in the photographer are two of the most important things I learned, and with Gary Gonzales, such will come quite readily. The second day of shooting began outside and that is really when things started to come together. I was rested, energized, and ready to break though any limitations I may have had. It was a nice transition moving outdoors and allowing the natural environment to play a role in the photos. We moved back into the studio later in the day, where shots started to come naturally and the tension, which was present the day before, was no longer abstracting the artistic photography we were there to capture. Having confidence, staying relaxed, and trusting the photographer every step of the way were the keys to my first successful shoot with NorCalBodz and Gary Gonzalez.